Beehive, the ’60s Musical Rocks Flat Rock Playhouse Mainstage October 13–30
Allow yourself to be transported back to a time of change, social unrest and girl power as the Flat Rock Playhouse presents the all-woman cast of Beehive, the ’60s Musical October 13–30 at the Clive and Nina Allen Mainstage in Flat Rock. Written and compiled by Larry Gallagher, Beehive, the ’60s Musical features songs like It’s My Party, Proud Mary, and My Boyfriend’s Back, chronologically creating a journey through the music of the era, from 1960 all the way through to 1969.
“I saw Beehive when I was kid in Chicago and it remains a stand-out to me all these years later,” says Lisa K. Bryant, producing artistic director. “I didn’t have much experience with the pop and rock music of that decade growing up so my first real brush with it was seeing Beehive. And it was electrifying. Six women belting out one tune after another, having so much fun together.”
Amy Jones will choreograph the show accompanied by Alex Shields as the music director. A six-part band consists of Shields on piano, Paul Babelay on drums, Daniel Iannuci on bass, Bill Altman playing guitar, Chris Imhoff on trumpet and Wes Parker playing saxophone. Bringing the songs to life are actress/vocalists Allison Sims as Jasmine, Danyel Fulton as Gina, Galen Crawley as Allison, Merrill Pieffer as Pattie, Nicoel Winter as Laura and Shaleah Adkisson as Wanda.
“I’ve been hearing fellow actors talk about Flat Rock Playhouse my entire career: what a great company it is to work for, how wonderful Asheville is, so I’m very excited to finally experience it for myself,” says Adkisson, whose character is the show’s narrator. “I did a production of Beehive ten years ago when I was just starting out, so I’m really interested to see how it’ll feel to sing these songs and tell these stories again after all this time.”
Flat Rock Playhouse hosts more than 98,000 patrons annually and is a significant contributor to the local economy and the arts in Western North Carolina. Its dual mission of producing the performing arts and providing education in the performing arts includes a professional series, a summer and fall college apprentice and intern program and Studio 52 with year-round classes and workshops in theatre and film for students from kindergarten through adults.
“It’s exciting to me to bring a show to the Playhouse that fosters such a spirited and playful atmosphere, celebrates great music, and is performed live by six exceptional vocalists and our amazing cadre of local musicians,” Bryant says.
Flat Rock Playhouse is located at 2661 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock. Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8 p.m., with matinees Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15–40 and can be purchased by calling the Playhouse box office at 828.696.0731 or online at flatrockplayhouse.org.
